Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has explained why he supports a possible alliance between Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Galadima, in report by Daily Independent, said the plan rests on political calculations aimed at producing a candidate who can defeat President Bola Tinubu in a free and fair election.

He said the Kwankwasiya Movement has a strong base, especially in Kano, but relying only on the movement may not be enough to make Kwankwaso president.

He said the political team also considered how Kwankwaso could play a major role in government and help turn their ideas for Nigeria into reality.

Galadima described Nigerian politics as a complicated game that requires careful planning.

He said the decision to support Obi did not come from emotion but from calculations about his ability to attract votes across different regions.

He said Obi, as a southern candidate, could draw support from the South while also gaining votes from other parts of the country.

The strategy, he explained, was to find a southern candidate who could win at least five states, while any additional states would count as a bonus.

Kwankwaso’s Kano strength
However, Galadima defended Kwankwaso’s political strength, especially his ability to deliver Kano State.

He questioned whether another Nigerian politician could confidently guarantee victory in his own state in the same way Kwankwaso could.

However, some critics have accused Kwankwaso of having little influence outside Kano and lacking the money needed for a presidential campaign. Galadima, however, said the political calculations went beyond those concerns.

The NDC chieftain addressed the possibility of Kwankwaso stepping aside from the presidential race. He compared the move to the way rams fight, saying they sometimes pull back before gathering strength for another attack.

He said such a retreat should not mean cowardice. Rather, he described it as a strategic move that could create room for a stronger political effort later.

Galadima said the wider goal was to combine political strengths from different regions and use them to challenge Tinubu at the polls.

He said the proposed alliance would focus on defeating the incumbent and offering Nigerians a stronger political alternative.

He said, “If you want to defeat Tinubu, what would you do? We thought the best thing to defeat Tinubu would be to bring a southern candidate that can have a minimum of five states. If he has above five, it’s a bonus.”

However, Galadima maintained that the strategy did not come from impulse. He said the political team studied available options and considered which combination could produce the desired electoral result.
Furthermore, he said the possible Obi-Kwankwaso alliance would bring their political strengths together.

He also suggested that Kwankwaso could still play a major role in government if he stepped aside and the arrangement allowed his supporters’ interests and ideas to reach the highest level.

The veteran strategist described the proposed alliance as a calculated political arrangement. He said it would combine regional support, electoral strength and political experience in the bid to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
External sources
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) — 2027 election information
INEC — Official election timetable and schedule
New Telegraph — Galadima on Tinubu and the Obi-Kwankwaso strategy

A chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, Buba Galadima, says he will support US President Donald Trump if his intervention will help address Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

Galadima made this known on Monday while speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time, in reaction to threat by Trump’s administration to send military troops to Nigeria amid allegations of “Christian genocide” in the country.

Asked if he would vote for Trump to deploy troops to secure areas affected by insecurity, Galadima said he would support such an action solely for the purpose of restoring security, not for religious motives.

He described Trump as a businessman who uses pressure to extract concessions from governments, noting that the US leader is primarily driven by strategic and economic interests, not by the protection of Christians or Muslims.

He argued that Trump has a track record of applying pressure on countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to secure financial gains.

Galadima, however, added that similar tactics could be used on Nigeria if President Bola Tinubu engages him affectively.

“Not for the purposes he (Trump) is talking about. But to come and secure Nigeria, I will vote for Trump 100 million times.

“You know it is both sides of the coin. Trump himself, I don’t believe that he’s here to protect Christians or Muslims. He wants to put pressure on the Nigerian government so that he could extract as much as possible, because he assumes that France and China are milking Nigeria dry.

“He’s not talking for you or for me. So he wanted to have a cake, and he has done that. Look at what is happening – put pressure on Saudi Arabia, put pressure on Kuwait and get trillions of dollars.

“So the man is a businessman. He can change if they ‘see’ him well. If they talk to him well, he can ‘press’ Tinubu tomorrow,” he said.